Jazz picks: Secret Chiefs 3, Cecile McLorin Salvant and more

Cecile McLorin Salvant, seen performing at the 21st Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in August, will be at Catalina Bar & Grill for two shows on Monday.

Cecile McLorin Salvant, seen performing at the 21st Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in August, will be at Catalina Bar & Grill for two shows on Monday. (Jack Vartoogian / Getty Images)

By Chris Barton

A selection of jazz and jazz-adjacent shows happening over the next few days.

Secret Chiefs 3

Ostensibly led by one of Mike Patton's former cohorts in the reliably unhinged Mr. Bungle, Secret Chiefs 3 traffics in a sort of genre-blind musical mystery not often seen these days. For upward of 10 years, Trey Spruance has been delivering a curious hybird that twists up Arabian music, heavy-bassed electronica, Ennio Morricone-informed soundscapes and, for good measure, serrated-edged surf rock.

Joined by such jazz-steeped such as Ches Smith, Shahzad Ismaily, Eyvind Kang and Matt Chamberlain, Spruance's deeply twisted music (sample song title: "The Left Hand of Nothingness") can be tough to describe, but is never less than fascinating, and reliably unlike anything else.

Often backed by a variety of genre-spanning musical heavyweights such as Ches Smith, Shahzad Ismaily and William Winant, Spruance's pan-continental psychedelia (sample song title: "Scorched Earth Saturnalia") is reliably strange, but never less than fascinating. Adding an extra layer of intrigue, in the band's Friday performance it will play selections from John Zorn's "Masada" songbook, which the group recorded for the downtown NYC composer's Tzadik imprint as "Xaphan: Book of Angels Vol. 9" in 2008. Happy Valentine's Day.

For upward of 10 years, Trey Spruance has been delivering a curious hybird that twists up Arabian music, heavy-bassed electronica, Ennio Morricone-informed soundscapes and, for good measure, serrated-edged surf rock.

Joined by such jazz-steeped such as Ches Smith, Shahzad Ismaily, Eyvind Kang and Matt Chamberlain, Spruance's deeply twisted music (sample song title: "The Left Hand of Nothingness") can be tough to describe, but is never less than fascinating, and reliably unlike anything else.

- See more at: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2012/01/72-hours-wilco-secret-chiefs-3-and-more.html#sthash.Y0IbOQvk.dpuf

Ostensibly led by one of Mike Patton's former cohorts in the reliably unhinged Mr. Bungle, Secret Chiefs 3 traffics in a sort of genre-blind musical mystery not often seen these days. For upward of 10 years, Trey Spruance has been delivering a curious hybird that twists up Arabian music, heavy-bassed electronica, Ennio Morricone-informed soundscapes and, for good measure, serrated-edged surf rock.

Joined by such jazz-steeped such as Ches Smith, Shahzad Ismaily, Eyvind Kang and Matt Chamberlain, Spruance's deeply twisted music (sample song title: "The Left Hand of Nothingness") can be tough to describe, but is never less than fascinating, and reliably unlike anything else.

- See more at: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2012/01/72-hours-wilco-secret-chiefs-3-and-more.html#sthash.Y0IbOQvk.dpuf

Ostensibly led by one of Mike Patton's former cohorts in the reliably unhinged Mr. Bungle, Secret Chiefs 3 traffics in a sort of genre-blind musical mystery not often seen these days. For upward of 10 years, Trey Spruance has been delivering a curious hybird that twists up Arabian music, heavy-bassed electronica, Ennio Morricone-informed soundscapes and, for good measure, serrated-edged surf rock.

Joined by such jazz-steeped such as Ches Smith, Shahzad Ismaily, Eyvind Kang and Matt Chamberlain, Spruance's deeply twisted music (sample song title: "The Left Hand of Nothingness") can be tough to describe, but is never less than fascinating, and reliably unlike anything else.

- See more at: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2012/01/72-hours-wilco-secret-chiefs-3-and-more.html#sthash.Y0IbOQvk.dpuf

Jeff Parker, Eric Revis and Alex Cline

You might be able to find a more inspired jazz combo this weekend, but it certainly won't be easy. Led by guitarist Jeff Parker, whose unique, flinty tone can be heard with the jazz-informed post-rock band Tortoise, the band also includes the eclectic touch of local percussion hero Alex Cline and bassist Eric Revis, whose recent album "City of Asylum" is a bracing, rewarding venture into the avant-garde.

Striking in stylish, white-framed glasses and able to sing in English, French and Spanish, McLorin Salvant was one of the biggest stories in jazz for 2013 with "WomanChild," an album that mines the recesses of blues and jazz with ebullient takes on the familiar (a rollicking recast of the work song "John Henry") and obscure (a knowing roller-coaster ride through "You Bring Out the Savage in Me," a '30s-era relic from one of her favorite singers, Valaida Snow).

At just 24, McLorin Salvant can recall the inspired burn of Abbey Lincoln, and this performance marks her West Coast debut. Also keep an ear open for her backing pianist Aaron Diehl, a rising star whose playing often holds equal footing with the soaring vocals.

In this time when news is disseminated ever more quickly, we asked our critics to list the best of entertainment and culture in 2013 in tweet form. Explore Barton's list here and click through for his tweets, as well as more in-depth essays. More from Barton: Complete list

Kelly Clarkson kicked off release week for her new “Piece by Piece” album with an appearance Monday on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” where she and the show’s host dived into a medley of hit pop duets spanning the last half century.